Monday, November 01, 2010

Governor: Graves case shows system works (just not Texas')

The release of an innocent man who spent 18 years in prison — 12 on Texas’ death row — proves the state’s justice system works, Gov. Rick Perry said Friday. ...

“I think we have a justice system that is working, and he’s a good example of — you continue to find errors that were made and clear them up,” Perry said. “That’s the good news for us, is that we are a place that continues to allow that to occur. So I think our system works well; it goes through many layers of observation and appeal, et cetera. So I think our system is working.”

That seems like an incredibly optimistic interpretation of Anthony Graves' story. As I wrote on Saturday, "It took a federal appellate court to overturn this conviction and order a new trial (see their order here) based on the extreme prosecutorial misconduct that's being alleged. Texas state appellate courts had already rubber-stamped Graves' death papers and would have sent him to the execution chamber by now, if they had their way." So it's not Texas' system that's "working" in the Anthony Graves example, but the federal one the Governor has been bashing in his rhetoric about "state's rights." Graves is the 12th Texan exonerated after being sentenced to death row.

Special prosecutor Kelly Siegler and Washington/Burleson DA Bill Parham deserve credit for dismissing charges when, faced with an order for retrial from the federal Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, they vetted all the evidence and concluded Graves was an innocent man who had been victimized by prosecutorial misconduct. In the meantime, though, the State Bar Association failed to hold the former DA Charles Sebesta accountable. And it's hard to ignore that Mr. Graves, though actually innocent, could find no relief for egregious Brady violations (failure to disclose exculpatory evidence) in Texas state appellate courts. I'm glad Anthony Graves is out, but the state's overall record in his case isn't really something to gloat about.

23 comments:

Anonymous
said...

The system worked with Anthony Graves after he had spent 18 years in the hoosegow, 12 of them on death row and four waithing to be retried with the prosecutors intending to put him back on death row. I'm sure Mr. Graves is grateful that he was finally exonerated, even if it was after his life had been destroyed. The system worked when the Innocence Project took a crowbar and pried it open. A lot like the system worked for Joe Moore (may he rest in peace) and others in the Tulia fiasco. With a system that works like this how would we fare with one that was actually broken.

Its interesting to note that Graves was on death row during some of the same years that Kerry Cook was. For a few years, during the 1990's Texas had at least 2 innocent men on death row at the same time. And, here's the kicker, both were there primarily because of police and prosecutorial misconduct.

If we really want the system to work, we have to add some real punishment for prosecutors and police who break the law and violate the canons of ethics.

Also, let's put Rick Perry in prison for 18 years on trumped up charges (how about arson. His house did burn down, and he's a giant jerk, something the governor himself says is enough to get the death penalty in Texas) and see how he feels about the system when he finally gets out.

Now that you mention it, 11:48, I think I did see someone running from the governor's mansion when the fire started that might have looked like the governor. All I remember for sure is the hair! So, that must have been him.

Governor rick perry was aware that prosecutorial Misconduct was taking place in graves specifically, and in Burleson county in General. His chief counsel Brian Newby, and later chief of staff was made aware of it in fall of 2006.

They were sent so much data on Graves' situation, they actually siad : "Thank you that's enou

"The release of an innocent man who spent 18 years in prison — 12 on Texas’ death row — proves the state’s justice system works, Gov. Rick Perry said Friday. ..."

This is working? If a doctor takes off the wrong arm, but the patient lives, is that the medical system working? If a policeman shoots the wrong suspect? is the LEO system working? If 911 sends to the wrong house and they have to then reroute and send to the correct address 2 hours later, is the 911 system working?

the Legal System is one of the things that must work right the first time, every time to be considered producing justice. A manufacturing plant can have a 10% failure rate, and they will get by because it does not take away someones rights and privileges mandated by the Constitution.

I fear Mr. Perry, that if you were to have asked Mr Graves opinion 15 years ago if the system was working, you would have gotten a little different spin on that ideal.

Rick Perry's statement is TFB. If he really wanted a system that worked, he wouldn't have put his lapdog John Bradley on the Texas Forensic Commission -- with the sole mission of blocking any results in the Willingham investigation until after he wins the Presidency. Whoops, I mean governorship .

I think I read somewhere that the accelerant used in the mansion fire was hairspray...

"Now that you mention it, 11:48, I think I did see someone running from the governor's mansion when the fire started that might have looked like the governor. All I remember for sure is the hair! So, that must have been him."

Just to make sure we'll throw in a jailhouse snitch, with whom we've made an undisclosed deal for a lighter sentence. And, we'll get an arson investigator who will testify that the fire spoke to him and fires do not lie.

And it's hard to ignore that Mr. Graves, though actually innocent, could find no relief for egregious Brady violations (failure to disclose exculpatory evidence) in Texas state appellate courts.

Yet again, Grits puts this on the Texas state courts. I can understand the gut reaction, but were Sebesta's Brady violation(s) and apparent misconduct ever before the Texas courts? Let's have a cite or a link to the Texas decision rejecting the claim. I'm not so sure they ever had the chance.

I haven't had time to read it thoroughly but, scanning through it, there is clearly proof that the CCA was at least aware of some of the misconduct such as intimidating Graves' alibi witness, preventing her from testifying.

Anonymous 07:51 - I don't have a cite, but claims have to be "exhausted" in state court before they can be raised in federal court (unless there is an absence of corrective process i.e. the state offers no procedure whereby you can obtain relief). So, yes, unless this was a totally anomalous case, the state courts would have had their chance to do the right thing.

10:31: If you're going to legitimately criticize Kelly Siegler or anybody else when you disagree with them, at least give them credit when they do the right thing. It costs you nothing and it never hurts to encourage positive behavior as well as criticizing the negative.

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